Name: Salad Lyonnaise (Warm bacon & egg salad)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 2 as a light main meal
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 200g piece of smoked bacon diced, or a pack of lardons (see tip); 1 garlic clove smashed once; 175g piece crustless white bread cubed (see tip); 1 small head of frisée lettuce (see tip); 1 shallot finely sliced into rings; 1 shallot finely chopped; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tbsp Dijon mustard; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp white wine vinegar; 2 eggs as fresh as they can possibly be

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Salad Lyonnaise (Warm bacon & egg salad)

Salad Lyonnaise (Warm bacon & egg salad)

Barney Desmazery

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Serves 2 as a light main meal

Easy

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 35 mins

A star rating of 4.7 out of 5.3 ratingsRate

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This traditional warm salad looks stunning but is really simple - great for a summer starter or main course

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French-style chicken with peas & bacon

A star rating of 4.7 out of 5.230 ratings

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

2 tbsp olive oil
200g piece of smoked bacon

diced, or a pack of lardons (see tip)
1 garlic clove

smashed once
175g piece crustless white bread

cubed (see tip)
1 small head of frisée

lettuce (see tip)
1 shallot

finely sliced into rings

For the dressing

1 shallot

finely chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil

For the eggs

1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 eggs

as fresh as they can possibly be

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Nutrition: per serving

kcal839
fat60g
saturates15g
carbs45g
sugars4g
fibre2g
protein32g
salt4.84g

Method

step 1

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan, then add the bacon and garlic. Sizzle for about 15 mins until the bacon is crisp and brown, then scoop it out with a slotted spoon into a bowl, leaving the garlic and bacon fat in the pan. Throw the bread into the pan and toss in the bacon fat, adding the remaining oil if the pan is dry. Fry the croutons for 5 mins on a low heat, tossing occasionally until golden and crisp, then remove pan from heat.
step 2

While the croutons are frying, make the dressing. Whisk the chopped shallot, vinegar, mustard and 1 tbsp water in a small bowl. add the oil gradually to make a thick dressing, season, then set aside. Cut away and keep the lighter lettuce leaves and wash if needed, discarding any of the tough outer leaves.
step 3

When all of your ingredients are ready, bring a pan of water to a gentle boil and add the vinegar. Crack the eggs into small bowls then gently lower into the water and poach for 3 mins exactly. Line a plate with kitchen paper and use a slotted spoon to lift the eggs onto the plate (see tip).
step 4

Tip most of the croutons, lardons, all the leaves and two-thirds of the dressing into a salad bowl and toss well. Pile the salad high into the middle of two plates and arrange the remaining croutons and lardons around the side of the plates with the shallot rings. Drizzle the rest of the dressing around the outside and, just before serving, top each plate of salad with an egg, then season it.

RECIPE TIPS

MAKE IT YOUR OWN

Most decent bistros run a variation on the theme of this salad. Other ingredients that are sometimes added and work well are crumbled blue cheese, toasted walnut pieces, pan-fried chicken livers, rounds of black pudding, shredded crispy duck legs, or just cooked green beans.

POACHED EGGS

To get a perfect teardrop shape for their poached eggs, some chefs trim the frilly edges off the cooked egg with kitchen scissors.

CROUTONS

Use slightly stale bread to make croutons. I like to use cubes of crustless baguette, but any white bread is fine.

LARDONS

A simple salad like this relies on quality ingredients. Traditionally, the bacon used would be cut off a larger piece into small cubes called ‘lardons’. You can buy packs of pre-cut lardons from supermarkets.

FRISéE

Frisée (sometimes called curly endive) is the traditional lettuce to use as the robust leaves hold their shape and texture even against warm ingredients. If you can’t find it, use a bag of ‘bistro mix’ salad, which normally contains frisée as well as other leaves.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, July 2011

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A star rating of 4.7 out of 5.3 ratings

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